Well hello, Chromeo...

Being a kid born into the 80's (1979 to be exact), I took on a lot of what the 80's had to offer. From it's sitcoms & movies to it's clothing, hairstyles & make-up. So I love how within the past few years the lovely trends of the 80's made a slow & sweeping comeback. Although some of the 80's fantastic trends shoulda very well stayed in the 80's, one thing that I'm most pleased about that made a cameo into our modern day are the sounds... That funky, electronic revival heard in some artists beats like Gordon Voidwell & Peaches. Most recently I was introduced to a duo called Chromeo, by none other than my fellow Vegas musichead/cousin ;)

I immediately dug their sound. Made me wanna put on some white 1-inch heels, a jean skirt, sheer black nylons and tie my hair to the side with a teal scrunchy, teased to high-heaven! Not that I ever wore that kinda outfit or anything... ;)

So all those within my age category (or not, all are welcome), let's have an audio flashback shall we?



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

Close your eyes. Are you extremely relaxed? Now count backwards starting with 10...

It was a $20 and under Christmas this year and my lovely lil sis totally listened to my Christmas list. As I was opening my gift(s) from her... set aside Grown Ups... set aside The Tell-Tale Heart... it was like it illuminated... N*E*R*D - Nothing. Been playing in my deck ever since. Although I woulda liked a couple more tracks on the album, it's still well worth the buy. Signature N*E*R*D sounds, signature Pharrell lyrics & vocals... And not a thing wrong with that. If it ain't broke, ain't gotta fix it.



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

My mojo so dope/Bitch.

And on the day of my birthday a superb album dropped. None other than the Kid Cudder's second official studio sounds. I awaited to purchase, just in case someone was being thoughtful and gifted it to me. And what a surprise! My cousin, Jen, did! Unknowing that it dropped that day and only knowing that I love me some Cudi, she splurged on the deluxe edition. Happy as a clam, this pic says a thousand Cudi-words...



Giving Big Boi & Mayer Hawthorne a rest - Mr. Rager is currently in constant play...

Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

This Mayer has my vote!

For the past 2 weeks, I've been the busiest I've been in a long time. Exhaustedly busy (and it doesn't help that I've cut back on my coffee intake quite a bit)... So I'll go back to the weekend before my birthday, November 6 & 7.

November 6th - DJ Haircut at HG Lodge. Y'all don't know who DJ Haircut is? That's the splendid crooner, Mayer Hawthorne, in disc jockey form. And just as smooth his tunes & voice are, so goes his DJ set. I was out with my crew on this wonderful eve of Daylight Savings time and as half of my peeps retreated to my car, the other half (including me) stayed and enjoyed every minute of DJ Haircut's 2 1/2 hour set. Pretty tipsy thanks to my bestie, we Dougied and swayed back and forth on the wide-step stairs. Now I haven't swooned over a DJ's skills since Donald Glaude, but DJ Haircut has swiftly taken that cake...



November 7th - My bestest in the westest took me out to a pre-bday dinner & concert. Dinner at Cheesecake Factory - lovely. Show with Mayer Hawthorne & The County - lovelier. His opener was this upbeat, time-travelled from the 80's, Prince & The Revolution type of funk, performer by the name of Gordon Voidwell. I was movin' & groovin'. Y'all have got to get hip...

After Mr. Voidwell performed, shortly came out the Mayer and his County. I was in extreme delight. One of the best shows I've ever been to in my concert-attending life. He sang, he danced... the audience sang and danced. I was tinged for an entire week after his show. I couldn't get it out of my system. Especially after they left the stage and the audience went no where. Swiftly chanting his name, he came back out to do 3 more songs. One of which was my favorite, Strange Arrangement. It got me so sincere, even a big-haired, black lesbian noticed my clear eyes. (Ahaha! Inside joke, you had to have been there...) There are a handful of artists that I will not miss performing live and Mayer Hawthorne has quickly taken a spot in my hand.


Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

Pick your next move/You can leave or live with it...

It just wouldn't be Kanye if he couldn't create an extravaganza out of his music... And even though we may not understand half the shit he's portraying in this film, it's visually pleasing and you get to hear a mixture of some of his new music. And just a quick sidenote: you'll need a little over 30 minutes for this one... Enjoy.



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

deCYPHER this...

I no longer watch BET so obviously I didn't watch this year's BET awards. But for the past couple days, I haven't stopped hearing the buzz behind this year's BET Awards cyphers. What's a cypher you ask? 3-5 minute freestyle skits displaying the impeccable flows of some of Hip Hops greatest, and some underrated, artists. And this is the kinda shit that makes me stay in love with Hip Hop. The veterans can't be touched and the new kids are well on their way.

Wiz Khalifa | Bones Brigante | Yelawolf | Raekwon


OMG | Doughboy | Ice Cube | Diggy | JoJo | Rev Run


Pusha T | Big Sean | Cyhi Da Prynce | Common | Kanye West


Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

I *heart* Twitter... Some folks may think nothing but status updates are fairly uneventful but not if you're following those that have more of a fan base than you ever will. Following music celebs makes Twitter ever so gratifying because you hear news about upcoming concerts, videos & album releases. And this morning, thanks to the wonderful Maxwell, I now know that not only is November 9, 2010 a significant date in my life (being my 31st bday and all...) it's also the date that Kid Cudi releases his 2nd studio album - Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. And I'd want nothing more for my bday this year =) Even if no one reads this post, I'm not hard up, it'll be a bday gift to myself. Happy mu'fuckin' birthday to me!



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

Greetings Earthlings/I’ve been lurking deep in the shadows/Gathering artillery for the battle...

A couple weeks ago, the same day we were supposed to go get our Big Boi tickets, my sister/concert buddy unfortunately lost her job. I then thought all extracurricular spending would have to be put on hold and it was unavoidably decided that we'd no longer go see Big Boi. Last week, as my cousin was hyping up for Big Boi's concert in Vegas, the thought of missing the opportunity to see Big Boi live in my city kept on in my head. A die-hard Outkast fan and a definite fan of Big Boi and Andre 3000 as individual artists, I never had the opportunity to see Outkast perform live and I also thought, "I CAN'T miss Big Boi... WE can't miss Big Boi!" So this past Thursday I decided to surprise my sister. I gathered up a bit of funds and took my happy butt down to the Showbox SoDo box office, heart just a'pounding when I asked, "Can I have 2 tickets to the Big Boi show please?". Tickets in hand, got in my car, did a little yelp and quickly took a pic of the tickets to send to my cousin in Vegas. Valerie so happened to stop by our sister's house after hot yoga so I excitedly dropped the envelope with the tickets in front of her and I said, "We can't miss this!"Overwhelmed and struck with glee, the smile on her face made me feel great! And we gon' feel even greater on Saturday, October 23rd ;)



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

Willow Smith | Whip My Hair

Big deal she's only 9 years old... She obviously has the sweltering talent of song. And even though I'm sure through studio wonderment they made her sound a teensie bit older than she really does, it doesn't take away from the fact that this song makes you wanna whip your hair. Don't front, you know it does ;)



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO

She'll love books/And cook/And look/Just like you...

When asked what two music artists, 1 female & 1 male, I'd like to meet in this lifetime, my answer was long standing with Jill Scott & Andre 3000. Most recently I strongly considered changing my choice of female to Janelle Monae, however, my choice of male remains. I've always appreciated Andre 3000's lyricism and humbleness and deemed to one day be privileged to 'pick his brain'. With an obvious taste for a lovely woman, his songs that pray tell towards the sweeter sex almost always play out like a courtship.

Welcome back Andre 3000...



Listen well
Be swell
And remember half the time I really 'Don't Give a Shit'

XO